China lodges diplomatic protest after North Korean border guards shoot dead three of its citizens

North Korean soldiers have killed three people they believe were attempting to cross the border from China (file photo)

A North Korean border guard has shot and killed three Chinese citizens and wounded a fourth, prompting China to lodge a formal diplomatic protest.

The guard shot the residents of the northeastern border town of Dandong last Friday, apparently on suspicion they were crossing the border for illegal trade, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

'On the morning of June 4, some residents of Dandong, in Liaoning province, were shot by a DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) border guard on suspicion of crossing the border for trade activities, leaving three dead and one injured,' he told a news conference.

'China attaches great importance to that and has immediately raised
a solemn representation with the DPRK. Now the case is under
investigation,' he said.

Dandong is a major shipping point and rail link for goods going into and out of North Korea from China.

Qin did not release any further information.

North Korea is yet to acknowledge the shootings.

The two countries are close allies, and China rarely criticizes its neighbor publicly.

China has been crucial to North Korea's survival, providing food, fuel, and investment.

Last month, its reclusive leader Kim Jong-il paid a rare visit to China, traveling to Beijing in search of additional economic assistance.

In return, he agreed to return to six-party talks, hosted by China, on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs, though no date was set.

However, tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high since the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March that left 46 sailors dead.
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Kim Jong-iI was pictured in north-eastern China last month

An international investigation has blamed North Korea for the sinking, but China has resisted pressure to condemn Kim Jong-il's regime. Instead, it has urged both the Koreas to show restraint.

Qin today urged all parties to exercise calm in the wake of South Korea formally bringing the incident before the United Nation's Security Council last week.

'China calls on all parties to exercise restraint and calm so as not to further escalate the tensions,' he said. 'China also upholds peace and stability on the peninsula. We always adhere to that position.'

The China-North Korea border is an area of major activity, with many impoverished North Koreans defecting to South Korea via the Chinese border, in part because of the difficulty of crossing the Demilitarized Zone.

More than 16,000 have defected to South Korea since the Korean War. Last year, about 2,800 North Koreans arrived in the South, up from about 2,500 in 2007.

In March 2009, two American journalists were seized near the border town of Dandong. The two, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, had crossed into North Korea while reporting on a story about North Korean women forced into the sex trade or arranged marriages when they defected to China.

They were nabbed by North Korean soldiers after they had already returned to Chinese soil. They were later released.